In the prior art, it is broadly known to terminate flat conductor cable by removing a portion of the insulation from the cable, deforming the exposed conductor lengths to form a desired contact arrangement and applying an insulator to the conductor lengths. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,017,602 and 3,258,831. It is also well known in the prior art to apply receptacle type terminals edge-wise to a strip like electrical conductor. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,487,356 and 3,917,371.
It will be seen that the prior art flat conductor cable terminations suffer from a number of disadvantages, such as the requirement of a molded housing on the cable or a complex connector structure which is subject to misalignment.
Thus, the need for a simple, reliable connector for flat conductor type ribbon cable is clear. Desirably, such a connector should be able to terminate the end of a ribbon cable as well as to be able to make an electrical connection to the ribbon cable in the center. Further, the terminals used in such a connector should make contact directly to the cable conductors rather than through an intermediate terminal or conductor so as to increase the reliability of the electrical connection. A further desirable feature for such connectors is that the electrical connection be easily disassembled in the event one or more components does fail.